Chapter 4 - THE RECORDING THAT EXPOSED A MONSTER
Daniel Willis looked directly into the camera.
He was thinner than in the photograph Faith had shown me.
His face was pale.
But his eyes were steady.
"If you're watching this," he began, "something has gone terribly wrong."
Faith sat beside me.
Her hands trembled.
I wanted to tell her she didn't have to watch.
But she had already made her decision.
Daniel continued.
"The Blackwood Foundation has been altering medical trial reports."
I leaned forward.
"Several patients experienced serious complications. Those incidents were minimized or omitted from summaries given to investors."
A cold sensation settled in my chest.
"Management knows."
Daniel swallowed.
"They told me to stop asking questions."
He looked toward someone outside the camera's frame.
Then continued.
"The device isn't ready for widespread testing."
Faith covered her mouth.
I looked at her.
She was crying silently.
Daniel's voice became strained.
"I helped design part of the control system. I believed we were creating something that could help people."
He paused.
"But they're using vulnerable patients to attract funding."
I felt sick.
Then Daniel said the name.
"Victor Blackwood."
My business partner.
My friend.
The man who'd stood beside my hospital bed and told me there was no hope.
Daniel continued.
"Blackwood personally approved several unauthorized changes to the trial protocol."
He looked directly into the camera.
"If something happens to me, the records are stored with my sister."
The video ended.
Silence filled the room.
Faith wiped her face.
"I watched that recording a hundred times."
I looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
She gave a bitter laugh.
"Everyone says that."
"I know."
She looked at me.
"Can you do anything?"
The question hurt.
Because for the first time since my accident, someone wasn't asking me to be strong.
They were asking whether I was willing to use whatever power I still had for something good.
"I can help get this evidence to investigators," I said.
Faith studied me.
"And Victor?"
I looked toward the window.
"He'll have to answer for what he did."
That evening, Richard contacted independent medical experts and attorneys experienced in healthcare fraud.
The records were preserved.
The video was submitted through appropriate legal channels.
And I requested a complete review of my treatment.
But before the doctors could examine me, Carmine arrived.
His expression was tense.
"Boss, there's something you should know."
I turned.
"What?"
"Victor Blackwood called."
My jaw tightened.
"What did he want?"
"He asked about the new caretaker."
I went still.
"Faith?"
Carmine nodded.
"He knew her full name."
A cold feeling spread through me.
"How?"
"I don't know."
Then Carmine revealed something worse.
"Victor says he recommended Faith to the employment agency."
I stared.
Faith hadn't found her way into my mansion by accident.
May you like
Someone had arranged for her to be here.
And that someone was Victor Blackwood.
